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This Week's Webinar: Overview of Year 2 Annual Plan Template and New Website Resources

This week's webinar we will review the year 2 Annual Plan Template Instructions and review the new resources available on the website. The webinar will be on Friday, April 8 at 12 p.m.-1 p.m. and will be recorded and posted to the AEBG Webinar series page. Visit that page or see below for directions on connecting to the webinar.

Click the Meetings tab at the top of the screen or the Join a Class or Meeting Button at the bottom of the screen

Locate your meeting and click Connect

Fill out the form using passcode 314393 and click Connect

Please note that some participants have been having trouble connecting to CCCConfer webinars possibly due to a system upgrade to Windows 10. If you are having trouble connecting, or have in the past, please contact CCCConfer Client Services so that they can provide assistance. You can contact them by phone at 1-760-744-1150 ext. 1537 or 1554, or by email at clientservices@cccconfer.org.

CLASP AEBG Implementation Survey

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is doing an AEBG Implementation Study. The purpose of the study, which will include consortia and state level partners, is to get a clearer sense of the system change impacts resulting from this effort to redesign adult education in California. The week of April 18, this survey will go out to the 640+ people on the AEBG contact list and should take 10-15 minutes to complete. Your contribution will help bring practitioners' views into the mix. Please contact Judy with any questions or concern: jmortrude@clasp.org.

New FAQs have been posted to aebg.cccco.edu. The FAQs will be updated with questions submitted during the weekly webinar and posted by the Wednesday following the webinar. New FAQs will be indicated in red and dated. Be sure to check out the FAQs section weekly for updated information.

The AEBG Consortia Web Portal is now available for use by the Adult Education Regional Consortia. This web portal is how regions will be submitting reports and updates to their regional plans in the future.

AEBG Consortia need to designate one point of contact and request access to the application system via a sign-up link.

The 2016-17 Draft Annual Plan Template and Guidance have been posted. These are drafts of the documents that will be used to describe to the state legislators and agencies the progress each Consortium made in Year 1 of the block grant towards achieving their AEBG Three-Year Plan. The format also provides a platform for updating activities and goals for Year 2. The Year 2 Plan Template was created with the following in mind:

As much as possible, the Plan format should provide content clarity between Year 1 proposals and progress and Year 2 updates, while limiting the amount of reiterative writing needed from consortia submitters. In order to provide consistency, the structure is largely the same. Some information is auto filled (and locked) to facilitate reflection, updates and planning.

It is understood that Year 1 was short. The timing of this Year 2 Plan is intended to begin aligning AEBG with the Program year for most educational programs, and with WIOA and other major Adult Education and CTE efforts. The sections in this Plan encourage reflection on what has be achieved to date, what the successes and challenges have been, and what implications those have for moving forward.

Data will not be available on Year 1 enrollment and student achievements until after the end of the program year (June 30, 2016). Setting enrollment and performance targets for Year 2 will occur after year-end data is available - in August 2016. In this Annual Plan, we are looking to learn from the consortia about the trends they are seeing to date for achieving the goals of the AEBG. This review can help both the state and the consortia plan more effectively for Year 2. An overview of the progress made to date by the state on the AEBG Data Tracking System is provided in Section 4.

New Career Ladders Project Report Focuses on Contextualized Teaching and Learning

The Career Advancement Academies (CAAs) are community college programs that focus on young adults who face academic and personal barriers to post secondary education and employment. Funded by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, CAAs increase foundational skills in reading, writing, and math, and help students advance along pathways leading to high demand careers and further higher education opportunities.

Contextualized teaching and learning is a key component of the CAAs. Contextualized teaching and learning combines basic skills with technical education - allowing students to make immediate progress toward their goals. Through contextualized teaching and learning, CAA students apply academic content that is directly relevant to their career interests. As a result, students become more engaged, motivated, and prepared for college and careers.

The US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Workforce Investment is offering technical assistance on Customer Centered Design (CCD). The Customer Centered Design process is amazingly generative, and one that starts with people and ends with surprising answers tailor-made to put customers' needs at the center. It can be used to directly learn from the communities you serve and to rapidly come up with innovative new concepts, quickly prototype them and then make your ideas come to life with results for your customers. The USDOL ETA has a community of practice with information and technical assistance regarding CCD.

The Northern Santa Barbara County Adult Education Consortium includes Allan Hancock Joint Community College District and Lompoc Unified School District.

THE CHALLENGE

The Northern Santa Barbara (SB) Consortium region, located on California's Central Coast, encompasses a 3,000-square-mile service area. Approximately, 300,000 residents primarily reside in Hispanic agricultural communities. North County is a socio-economic challenged area. Santa Maria and Lompoc, North County's largest cities, are characterized by struggling local economies, higher than average unemployment, low graduation and literacy rates, large numbers of English as a second language learners, and pockets of extreme poverty. Residents clearly indicate they want help with obtaining the basic skills and knowledge needed to obtain or find a better job.

THE SOLUTION

The AHC Community Education program collaborates with S.B. County WIA/WIB and EDD at the Workforce Resource Center (WRC), a one-stop/American Job Center of California (AJCC) facility. All of the preceding agencies, along with S.B. County Social Services, are co-located in the same building, the WRC, to support local unemployed and the underemployed residents. The WRC Open Access Career Lab is staffed by AHC noncredit faculty to help local job seekers with their job search, career goals and pathways, resume development, and interview techniques and skills. S.B. County WIOA program and local EDD Job Services also staff the lab providing assistance with unemployment benefits and training opportunities.

Visit the Consortia tab on aebg.cccco.edu to take a look at our new consortia directory. Click on the icon in the details column to see more information on a region including contact information, members, and submitted documents.

Please take a few moments to review the information for your region and if you see errors, scroll down to the bottom of your region's details page and find the red exclamation point icon. Click on "Tell Us" and complete the web form to let us know of any changes that need to be made.

Stay tuned for more updates to this new feature!

Have Questions or Comments? Send them to AEBG@cccco.edu

Have questions or comments regarding AEBG? Please help us help you by sending any questions or comments to aebg@cccco.edu rather than directly to Neil Kelly or Carmen Martinez-Calderon. Sending them to the AEBG inbox helps us get back to you more quickly and efficiently!